The Washington Post had an article about "Escape Room" arcades, a form of entertainment where people pay to play elaborate "escape" games, such as a failing submarine, where participants have to solve puzzles to "escape."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/17/escape-rooms-district-area/
Behind a paywall, but first few articles are free.
Anyway, the article had a good theory about why people enjoy these rooms that I think is relevant to the huge enjoyment of ER that many of us have:
I experienced my job as extremely stressful, and even now, 5 years distant, every day seems really good to me, even if I do nothing special. I don't think I need or would enjoy being placed in a stressful situation to experience the rush of relief afterwards. Been there, done that.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/08/17/escape-rooms-district-area/
Behind a paywall, but first few articles are free.
Anyway, the article had a good theory about why people enjoy these rooms that I think is relevant to the huge enjoyment of ER that many of us have:
One theory, represented by the work of University of Colorado psychology professor Tor Wager, argues that humans determine whether life is better or worse based on a baseline state.
If the baseline is an average day, then the average day will not register as particularly great. “On the other hand,” as Siegle explained to me, “if we get a really good baseline for what being super stressed out is, then an okay day is comparatively terrific.”
I experienced my job as extremely stressful, and even now, 5 years distant, every day seems really good to me, even if I do nothing special. I don't think I need or would enjoy being placed in a stressful situation to experience the rush of relief afterwards. Been there, done that.